Sakura's Story: #1 Sibling Rivalry

((Finally got around to reposting this fiction based on my Illusion/Kinetics Controller and her DM/Regen Scrapper brother, which was lost in the forum wipe of last year. I've tweaked a bit here or there in the meantime. The other parts will follow when I get a chance, and maybe something new after that.))

Elisha Hunter leaned casually against the balcony railing of her fifth floor apartment, absent-mindedly chewing at the ends of her long flame-red hair. She had always loved soaking up the dying rays of the sun as it set slowly behind the trees of Perez Park, and this evening was no different. Perez had been Elisha’s home for as long as she could remember, and no amount of trouble on the streets below could take away the contented memories of her child-hood.

Back then, she liked nothing better than resting against the cherry blossom in the park, enthusiastically racing through whichever book had caught her eye in the library that day. Elisha loved to read, much to the mock-irritation of her Mother; “Why must you always have your nose stuck in a book?”, she would ask, before embracing Elisha warmly. “You know, you should really be out with friends instead of sitting there in the park all evening”, her Mother had said softly whilst stroking her brow. They both knew deep down that was unlikely to happen; Elisha didn’t make friends easily, and she had been unlucky that the few she did make, had ended up leaving Paragon City for one reason or another.

And so it was that Elisha had to make do with her younger brother, Aaron. They had a somewhat fractious relationship, albeit one that some would consider the norm for teenage siblings, and rarely a day went by without their Mother having to split them up over some petty squabble. The arguments had, however, turned uglier by the time Aaron had reached mid-teens. They were both very tall for their age – taking after their Father, their Mother would often tell them – but the proclamation by the midwife of “What a big, strapping, boy!” had turned out to be literally correct. However, despite his hulking physique and his ability to land stunning blows on Elisha’s arms and legs, Aaron didn’t possess his sister’s more exotic talents.

It had happened quite by accident, of course. There had been the usual fracas in the hallway - an argument, a shove here, a punch or two there – when Elisha suddenly felt a surge of will that she had never experienced before. As she struggled to comprehend her feelings of confusion mixed with anger, Aaron continued to land punches on her arms. Elisha began to feel almost detached from herself, as her eyes simultaneously seemed to become on fire. Aaron pulled his arm back in what she knew, from past experience, would be an especially painful blow. And then, just as she exhaled deeply, Elisha felt her will release. There was a surge of heat through her eyes – more peculiar than painful - and a flash engulfed her vision, whilst a noise like a thunderclap rang in her ears. A fraction of a second later, she heard Aaron shriek in anguish “My eyes! I can’t see!” As Elisha’s senses slowly returned to her, she was horrified to find Aaron’s head completely surrounded by a luminous mass of light that was accompanied by a staccato grinding, like metal repeatedly rubbing together. Aaron gripped his head tightly between both hands and was, by now, wailing uncontrollably. Elisha was stunned “What have I done!” she cried, and grasped Aaron in a tight hug as the intangible light gradually started to subside. Aaron’s wails slowly began to reduce to a sob, as they both slumped to the floor.

It had felt to him like hours, but actually had been only minutes, as Aaron slowly opened his eyes. The pain had largely gone now, although his vision was still very blurred. As Aaron stared ahead blankly, he slowly became aware of a face looking back at him, surrounded by flame-red hair. “Eli?” he called out, tentatively. “Just rest for now, Aaron”, his sister replied. As the blurriness started to disappear, he could see Elisha was crying. “I’m so sorry Aaron, I don’t know what happened”, she said quietly as Aaron wearily rubbed the side of his head. “It’s OK Eli, I’ll be fine… I think. I guess I should stick to punch-bags in future…” And then, the front door swung open, and their Mother walked in. She stopped suddenly and critically regarded the pair of them as they sat on the hall floor. An eyebrow rose sharply. “And what precisely has been going on here?”, she demanded. Elisha and Aaron looked at each other and considered the question for a few moments; “Nothing, Mother” they replied in unison, whilst rolling their eyes, as they both started to laugh.

lol you stole the name. oh well. I can easierly rethink another lol. Anyway looks prety good to me. two thumbs up plus toes.

Sakura, you mean? She's been around for 18 months, so clearly the name is mine by rights

Thanks for the thumbs and toes up!

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Sakura, you mean? She's been around for 18 months, so clearly the name is mine by rights

Thanks for the thumbs and toes up!

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lol how true. I'm sure alot of people have used that name. I never would have found it was taken if I didn't put her surname on like I did.